The Short Version
SurroScore ratings are calculated using a proprietary formula that balances multiple independent data sources. We don't rely on any single signal — instead, we combine surrogate-filtered Google reviews, community sentiment from forums and groups, and trust signals like BBB accreditation to create a holistic picture of each agency.
Our goal isn't to rank agencies from "best" to "worst." It's to surface honest, surrogate-specific experiences so you can find the agency that's the right fit for your journey.
What We Measure
Surrogate Reviews
Google reviews written by actual surrogates — separated from intended parents, employees, and others
Community Voice
What surrogates say in online communities — Reddit discussions, Facebook groups, forums
Trust Signals
BBB accreditation, complaint history, and business legitimacy indicators
Why Surrogate-Filtered Reviews Matter
A typical surrogacy agency's Google reviews include voices from many different people: intended parents, egg donors, employees, and surrogates. Each group has a very different experience with the same agency.
An intended parent might rate an agency 5★ because they got matched quickly. But a surrogate at the same agency might have a completely different story — poor communication, unexpected costs, or lack of support during their journey.
We use natural language processing to identify which reviews were written by surrogates, then calculate a separate surrogate-specific rating. This is the rating that matters most for our SurroScore.
How We Classify Reviews
Our system analyzes the language in each Google review to determine who wrote it. Reviews mentioning surrogate-specific experiences (journey language, medical procedures, agency support) are classified as surrogate reviews. Reviews from intended parents, employees, and donors are identified and separated.
This isn't perfect — some reviews are too short or vague to classify. When we're unsure, we leave them unclassified rather than guess. We'd rather have fewer data points than wrong ones.
How We Handle Outliers
Not every review tells the full story. A single 1★ review from someone having a bad day — or a 5★ review that seems too good to be true — can skew an agency's rating unfairly.
We use a trimmed mean approach: for agencies with enough reviews, we remove the most extreme ratings before calculating the average. This protects against:
- Fake positive reviews — yes, some agencies pad their ratings
- Misclassified reviews — when an IP review slips through our filter
- One-off grudge reviews — a single bad experience shouldn't define an agency
- Employee reviews — staff reviewing their own workplace
We do our best to exclude reviews from agency employees, spam accounts, and repetitive/duplicate reviews. Our classifier catches most of these, but if you spot something that looks off on an agency page, let us know at [email protected].
Confidence Levels
Not all ratings carry the same certainty. An agency with 50 classified surrogate reviews gives us a much clearer picture than one with only 4.
We're transparent about this. Every agency page shows how many surrogate reviews the rating is based on — so you can judge for yourself how much weight to give it.
| Surrogate Reviews | What This Means |
|---|---|
| 25+ | Strong data. The surrogate rating is highly reliable and based entirely on surrogate experiences. |
| 10 – 24 | Good data. We weight surrogate reviews heavily but blend with the overall Google rating for stability. |
| 3 – 9 | Limited data. The surrogate rating is shown but blended more with overall reviews. Marked as "limited data." |
| < 3 | Not enough data. We don't show a surrogate-specific rating — only the overall Google rating appears. |
The Composite Score
The SurroScore you see on each agency page isn't just one number from one source. It's a weighted composite that balances multiple independent signals:
How Signals Are Weighted
Each signal contributes to the final score based on how reliable and relevant it is to the surrogate experience:
- Surrogate-Filtered Google Rating — the largest factor. What surrogates actually say about their experience.
- Community Sentiment — what surrogates discuss in online communities. Positive, negative, and neutral mentions are all factored in.
- BBB Trust Score — accreditation status and complaint history provide a business legitimacy signal.
When a signal isn't available for an agency (e.g., no BBB listing), we exclude it and redistribute the weight across the remaining signals. No agency is penalized for missing data.
What We Don't Do
- We don't accept payment for ratings. Agencies cannot pay to improve their SurroScore. Period.
- We don't penalize small agencies. An agency with 10 perfect surrogate reviews isn't punished for being smaller than one with 100 reviews.
- We don't use intended parent reviews in the surrogate rating. Their experience is valid, but it's different from yours.
- We don't publish individual compensation data. Comp ranges come from surrogate-reported data, not from agencies.
- We don't fabricate or alter reviews. Every data point comes from a real, public source.
Discrepancy Warnings
Sometimes an agency has a great overall Google rating (4.8★) but a significantly lower surrogate-specific rating (3.2★). When this gap is meaningful, we flag it with a ⚠️ warning.
This doesn't necessarily mean the agency is bad — it means surrogate experiences differ from the overall picture, and you should read the individual reviews to understand why.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often are ratings updated?
We refresh our Google review data quarterly and community data on an ongoing basis. Agency pages show when data was last updated.
Can agencies claim their listing?
Yes! Agencies can claim their SurroScore page to update their profile information, respond to reviews, and ensure their details are accurate. Claiming a listing does not affect the rating calculation in any way.
I think a review was misclassified. What do I do?
Our classifier is good but not perfect. If you spot a review that seems incorrectly categorized, email us at [email protected] and we'll review it manually.
Why doesn't my agency have a SurroScore yet?
We need a minimum amount of data to generate a meaningful score. If your agency is new or has very few public reviews, the score may not appear yet. As more data becomes available, the rating will be calculated automatically.
Is the exact formula public?
We share our methodology transparently (you're reading it!), but the exact weights and parameters are proprietary. This prevents gaming — if agencies knew exactly how to optimize for a higher score, the ratings would lose their integrity. Think of it like a credit score: you know what factors matter, but the precise formula stays internal.
Will SurroScore have its own review system?
Yes — we're building a direct review platform where verified surrogates can share detailed experiences. These first-party reviews will carry significant weight in the composite score. Coming soon.